Vatican City

Vatican City, officially called the Vatican City State, is the smallest country in the world. It covers just 48.99 hectares (121 acres) and has a population of about 882 people. This tiny city-state is located inside Rome, Italy, and is ruled by the pope, who is also the leader of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican became an independent country in 1929 through an agreement called the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. It serves as the main center for the Catholic Church, which has over a billion members worldwide.

Inside Vatican City are important religious and cultural sites like St Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Apostolic Library, and the Vatican Museums. These places hold some of the world's most famous artworks. The Vatican does not collect taxes and gets its money from gifts from believers, selling stamps and souvenirs, and charging admission to its museums.

Name

The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on February 11, 1929. This treaty created the modern city-state, named after Vatican Hill, where it is located inside the city of Rome. The word "Vatican" comes from an old Etruscan place called Vatica or Vaticum, in an area the Romans knew as Ager Vaticanus (‘Vatican territory’).

In Italian-language, the city is called Città del Vaticano, or formally Stato della Città del Vaticano, meaning 'State of Vatican City'. Its Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanae, which is used in official documents by the Holy See and the pope.

History

Further information: History of the Papacy and Holy See § History

Early history

The name "Vatican" dates back to ancient Roman times. It referred to an area near Rome, called Ager Vaticanus, which was marshy and often flooded. Romans thought this place felt unlucky because it was close to their enemy, the city of Veii, and because of the frequent floods.

Over time, many rich people built homes there. One famous ruler, Caligula, built a place for races called the Circus of Nero. A tall stone tower, called the Vatican obelisk, still stands today as a reminder of that time. This area also became important for early Christians, who believed Saint Peter, one of Jesus' followers, was buried there.

Papal States

Main article: Papal States

See also: History of the Papacy

For many years, the leaders of the Catholic Church, called popes, also ruled a large area of land in Italy known as the Papal States. They did not always live in the Vatican. For a long time, they lived in a palace called the Lateran Palace in Rome. Later, they moved to the Vatican, and then to another palace called the Quirinal Palace.

Under Italian rule (1871–1929)

Main article: Roman Question

In 1870, when Italy was being united into one country, Rome became part of Italy. The popes were not allowed to leave the Vatican, leading to a disagreement that lasted until 1929.

Lateran treaties

Main article: Lateran Treaty

In 1929, an agreement called the Lateran Treaty was signed. This treaty created Vatican City as its own small country and settled the disagreement between the popes and Italy.

World War II

During World War II, the Vatican stayed neutral. Even when German troops occupied Rome, they respected the Vatican's neutral status. The leader of the Vatican at the time worked hard to prevent Rome from being bombed.

Post-war history

After the war, changes continued to be made within the Vatican. In later years, new buildings were added, sometimes causing discussions with nearby countries.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Vatican City

Vatican City is a small country located inside the city of Rome, Italy. It is built on Vatican Hill and includes important places like St Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums. This area was once part of Rome but became its own country in 1929.

The weather in Vatican City is similar to Rome's, with mild winters and hot summers. The city has gardens that cover about half of its land, filled with fountains and sculptures.

Governance

Main article: Politics of Vatican City

The politics of Vatican City takes place in the context of an absolute elective monarchy and being governed by the Holy See, in which the head of the Catholic Church holds power. The pope exercises principal legislative, executive, and judicial power over the State of Vatican City, which is a rare case of a non-hereditary monarchy.

The Vatican City State, created in 1929 by the Lateran Pacts, provides the Holy See with a temporal jurisdiction and independence within a small territory. It is distinct from the Holy See. The state can thus be deemed a significant but not essential instrument of the Holy See. The Holy See itself has existed continuously as a juridical entity since Roman Imperial times and has been internationally recognized as a powerful and independent sovereign entity since Late Antiquity to the present, without interruption even at times when it was deprived of territory (e.g. 1870 to 1929).

Vatican City is one of the few widely recognized independent states that has not become a member of the United Nations. The Holy See, which is distinct from Vatican City State, has permanent observer status, with all the rights of a full member except for a vote in the UN General Assembly.

The government of Vatican City has a unique structure. As governed by the Holy See, the pope is the sovereign of the state, but he is supported by different bodies. Legislative authority is managed, in the pope's name, by the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, a body of cardinals appointed by the pope for five-year periods. Executive power is exercised by the president of that commission, who is consequently also the president of the governorate, assisted by the general secretary and the deputy general secretary. The state's foreign relations are entrusted to the Holy See's Secretariat of State and diplomatic service.

Nevertheless, the pope has absolute power in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches over Vatican City, and is thus the only absolute monarch in Europe.

Operationally, there are departments that deal with health, security, telecommunications and other matters.

As Vatican City is governed by the Holy See, the pope is ex officio the head of state, a function dependent on his primordial function as bishop of the diocese of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. The term "Holy See" refers not to the Vatican state but to the pope's spiritual and pastoral governance, largely exercised through the Roman Curia. His official title with regards to Vatican City is Sovereign of the State of Vatican City.

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, United States, was elected on 8 May 2025. His principal subordinate government official for Vatican City as well as the country's de facto head of government is the president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, who since 1952 exercises the functions previously belonging to the Governor of Vatican City. Since 2001, the president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State also has the title of president of the Governorate of the State of Vatican City. The president is the Italian sister Raffaella Petrini, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 1 March 2025, and was reconfirmed by Pope Leo XIV on 9 May 2025.

Legislative functions are administered by the pope, but are also delegated to the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, led by the president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. Its members are cardinals appointed by the pope for terms of five years.Acts of the commission must be approved by the Pope, through the Holy See's Secretariat of State,^{[citation needed]} and must be published in a special appendix of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.Most of the content of this appendix consists of routine executive decrees, such as approval for a new set of postage stamps.^{[citation needed]}

Executive authority is delegated to the president of the Governorate of Vatican City, who is also the president of the Pontificial Commission. In addition, the Governorate include two immediate collaborators of the president: the general secretary and the deputy general secretary, members of the General Secretariat,each appointed by the pope for five-year terms.^{[citation needed]}Important actions of the Governorate must be confirmed by the Pontifical Commission and by the Pope through the Secretariat of State.^{[citation needed]}

Both the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the president of the Governorate of Vatican City can be assisted by the councilors of Vatican City State in drafting legislation and other important issues. The president of the Governorate can convoke the members of the Council of Directors, together with external experts and people. The Governorate oversees the central governmental functions through several departments and offices. The directors and officials of these offices are appointed by the Pope for five-year terms.

The Governorate is organized into central offices, one for law and another for personnel matters, and directorates with roles in the following matters:

• Infrastructure and services
• Telecommunications and information systems
• Security and civil protection services
• Economy
• Health and hygiene
• Museums and cultural heritage
• Pontifical villas

There are subsidiary bodies for monetary, disciplinary, personnel and personnel selection matters.

In the pope's name, judiciary functions (Vatican judiciary) are exercised by four bodies: a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal, a Tribunal and a Sole Judge, whose roles are established by the Vatican codes of criminal and civil procedure, and the 2013 "Motu Proprio On the Jurisdiction of Judicial Authorities of Vatican City State in Criminal Matters". At the Vatican's request, sentences imposed can be served in Italy (see the section on crime, below).

Due to obvious territorial constraints, many headquarters and offices of the Holy See are located on Italian territory. They are granted the same immunity as diplomatic missions thanks to the Lateran Treaty and are commonly defined as "extraterritorial areas".

As Vatican City is an enclave within Italy, its military defence is provided by the Italian Armed Forces. There is no formal defence treaty with Italy, as Vatican City is a neutral state. Vatican City has no armed forces of its own, although the Swiss Guard is a military corps of the Holy See responsible for the personal security of the pope, and residents in the state. Soldiers of the Swiss Guard are entitled to hold Vatican City State passports and nationality.

Swiss mercenaries were historically recruited by popes as part of an army for the Papal States. The Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II on 22 January 1506 as the pope's personal bodyguard and continues to fulfill that function. It is listed in the Annuario Pontificio under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City". In 2005, the Guard had 134 members. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland.

All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss citizenship who have completed their basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) in height. Members are equipped with small arms and the traditional halberd, and trained in bodyguarding tactics. Together with the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City, the Swiss Guard have roles in the Italy-Vatican border control. The Palatine Guard and the Noble Guard, the last armed forces of the Vatican City State, were disbanded by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

The entire territory of Vatican City has been listed on the International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection and, in 1984, among World Heritage Sites. Consequently, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict provides international legal protection against armed conflicts. A large part of the historical documents of the very extensive Vatican Apostolic Archive is stored in the "Bunker", which was inaugurated in 1980. This facility is a two-storey reinforced concrete vault, under the Cortile della Pigna, equipped with systems for fire protection, climate and humidity control, and physical security.

Civil defence is the responsibility of the Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State, the national fire brigade. Dating its origins to the early nineteenth century, the Corps in its present form was established in 1941. It is responsible for fire fighting, and civil defence scenarios including flooding, natural disasters, and mass casualty incidents. The Corps is governmentally supervised through the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defence, which is also responsible for the Gendarmerie (see below).

The Gendarmerie Corps (Corpo della Gendarmeria) is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of Vatican City and the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See. The corps is responsible for security, public order, border control, traffic control, criminal investigation, and other general police duties in Vatican City including providing security for the pope outside Vatican City. The corps has 130 personnel and is a part of the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defence (which also includes the Vatican Fire Brigade), an organ of the Governorate of Vatican City.

Even though St Peter's Square is part of Vatican territory, it is normally safeguarded by Italian police forces.

Crime in Vatican City consists largely of purse snatching, pickpocketing and shoplifting by outsiders. The tourist foot-traffic in St Peter's Square is one of the main locations for pickpockets in Vatican City. If crimes are committed in the square, the perpetrators may be arrested and tried by the Italian authorities, since that area is normally patrolled by Italian police.

Under the Lateran Treaty, Italy will, at the request of the Holy See, punish individuals for crimes committed within the Vatican City and will itself proceed against the person who committed the offence, if that person takes refuge in Italian territory. Persons accused of crimes recognized as such both in Italy and in Vatican City that are committed in Italian territory will be handed over to the Italian authorities if they take refuge in the Vatican City or in buildings that enjoy immunity under the treaty.

The Vatican City has no prison system, apart from a few detention cells for pre-trial detention. People convicted of committing crimes in the Vatican serve terms in Italian prisons (Polizia Penitenziaria), with costs covered by the Vatican.

Vatican City State is a recognized national territory under international law. The Holy See conducts diplomatic relations on its behalf, in addition to the Holy See's own diplomacy, entering into international agreements in its regard. Vatican City thus has no diplomatic service of its own.

Because of space limitations, Vatican City is one of the few countries in the world that are unable to host embassies. Foreign embassies to the Holy See are located in Rome. Only during the Second World War were the staff of some embassies accredited to the Holy See given what hospitality was possible within the narrow confines of Vatican City – embassies such as that of the United Kingdom while Rome was held by the Axis powers and Germany's when the Allies controlled Rome.

The size of Vatican City is unrelated to the large global reach exercised by the Holy See as an entity quite distinct from the state.

Vatican City State itself participates in some international organizations whose functions relate to the state as a geographical entity, distinct from the non-territorial legal persona of the Holy See. These organizations are much less numerous than those in which the Holy See participates either as a member or with observer status. They include the following eight, in each of which Vatican City State holds membership:

• European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)
• European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat IGO)
• International Grains Council (IGC)
• International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS)
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO)
• Interpol
• Universal Postal Union (UPU)

It also participates in:

• World Medical Association
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Vatican City State is not a member of the United Nations (UN), but the Holy See was granted observer status to the United Nations General Assembly in 1968; the only other country in a similar position is the partially recognized State of Palestine. Since it is not a member of the UN, the Vatican City is not subjected to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It engages with UN specialized agencies through its observer status, including the Central Emergency Response Fund, to which it contributed US$20,000 between 2006 and 2022.

The Vatican City State is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). In Europe, only Belarus is also a non-party, non-signatory state. Ukraine and Monaco are signatory states that have not ratified and Russia withdrew from it in 2016.

The Vatican City State is not a member of the Council of Europe nor a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, thus is not subject to the European Court of Human Rights. Among European states, Belarus is also not a member, while Russia has ceased to be part of it after being expelled from the Council of Europe following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The OECD's "Common Reporting Standard" (CRS), aiming at preventing tax evasion and money laundering, has also not been signed. The Vatican City State has been criticized for money-laundering practices in the past decades. The only other country in Europe that has not agreed to sign the CRS is Belarus.

The Vatican City State is one of few countries in the world that do not provide any publicly available financial data to the International Monetary Fund.^{[failed verification]}

Economy

Main article: Economy of Vatican City

The Vatican City earns money through its museums, post office, and sales of stamps, coins, medals, and gifts. It also gets money from people visiting the museums and buying its publications. Workers in Vatican City earn similar amounts to workers in Rome. The Vatican has its own bank, known as the Vatican Bank, which handles money matters around the world. It has ATMs that show instructions in Latin, which is quite unusual.

Vatican City makes its own coins and stamps and uses the Euro as its money. It switched to the Euro in 1999, and started using Euro coins and notes in 2002. Before that, it had its own currency called the Vatican lira.

In 2007, Vatican City had extra money left over, but in 2008, it spent more than it earned.

In 2014, the Vatican started a special office to manage all its money matters. This followed some problems with money handling. The Vatican also brought together its news, radio, and media services under one group to handle communication.

In 2022, the Vatican planned to release digital collectibles called NFTs from its museum collection.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Vatican City

Vatican City has walkways and a main square for people to move around. It is very small, about the size of a short walk, and does not have airports or highways. The only place to fly in is a small heliport. The closest big airports are in Rome. There is a small railway that mostly moves goods and connects to Rome’s train system. The nearest subway station is in Rome, close to the Vatican museums.

Telecommunications and mass media

Vatican City has its own modern telephone system. It controls its own web address ending in .va. It also has radio services and a website called Vatican News. These services are managed by a special group that handles all the Vatican’s communication needs. Vatican Radio broadcasts on different frequencies and online. The Vatican also has its own newspaper and printing press.

Postal service

Vatican City started its own postal service in 1929 and began issuing its own stamps soon after. It is known for having a very efficient postal system, sometimes better than the one in Rome. The postal code for Vatican City is SCV-00120.

Healthcare

See also: Vatican Pharmacy and Bambino Gesù Hospital

Sustainability

The Vatican has taken steps to help the environment. It uses solar power with panels on buildings like the Paul VI Audience Hall. It has added charging stations for electric cars and plans to replace its cars with electric ones. The Vatican stopped using single-use plastics in 2019, well before the European Union’s rule. It recycles about 55% of its waste and aims to reach 70–75% recycling, like the rest of Europe. It also uses energy-saving lights and digital documents to save energy and paper, following the teachings of Pope Francis.

Demographics

See also: Demographics of Vatican City and Women in Vatican City

Vatican City is a very small place with only 882 people living there as of 2024. These people include religious workers, guards, and their families. Many more people visit each day as tourists. Everyone living there follows the Catholic faith.

Vatican City does not have an official language, but Italian is used for most everyday matters. The Swiss Guard, who protect the city, use Swiss German for commands but take their promises in their own languages.

Citizenship in Vatican City is special. It is given to people who work for the religious leaders, and it ends if they stop working there. Their families can also become citizens. If someone loses Vatican citizenship, they become an Italian citizen.

Languages

Further information: Languages of Vatican City

Citizenship

Unlike citizenship of other states, which is based either on jus sanguinis (birth from a citizen, even outside the state's territory) or on jus soli (birth within the territory of the state), citizenship of Vatican City is granted on jus officii, namely on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See. This includes Cardinals resident either within Vatican City or elsewhere in Rome, diplomats of the Holy See, and any other person resident in Vatican City due to their occupation. It usually ceases upon the cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is extended to the spouse and children of a citizen, provided that they are living together in the city. Some individuals are authorized to reside in the city but do not qualify or choose not to request citizenship. Anyone who loses Vatican citizenship and does not possess other citizenship automatically becomes an Italian citizen, as provided in the Lateran Treaty.

The Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City issues ordinary passports for its citizens.

Statistical oddities

In statistics comparing countries in per capita or per area metrics, Vatican City is often an outlier – these stem from the state's small size and ecclesiastical function. For example, as most of the roles which would confer citizenship are reserved for men, the gender ratio of Vatican City citizenship is several men per woman. Further oddities are petty crimes against tourists, resulting in a very high per-capita crime rate, and the city-state leading the world in per-capita wine consumption due to its sacramental use. A jocular illustration of these anomalies is sometimes made by calculating a "popes per km²" statistic, which is greater than two because Vatican City is less than half a square kilometre in area.

A 360-degree view from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, looking over the Vatican's Saint Peter's Square (centre) and out into Rome, showing Vatican City in all directions

Culture

See also: Music of Vatican City

See also: Architecture of Vatican City and Vatican Museums

Vatican City is home to some of the world's most famous art. St Peter's Basilica, designed by many great artists, is a wonderful example of Renaissance architecture. The Sistine Chapel is well-known for its beautiful paintings, including work by Michelangelo.

The Vatican Apostolic Library and the Vatican Museums hold very important historical and cultural items. In 1984, UNESCO added Vatican City to its list of World Heritage Sites, making it the only entire state to receive this honor.

Pope Pius XI created the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1936. This group brings together scientists to study mathematics, physics, natural sciences, and medicine. The Vatican Observatory, started in the 1500s, works on astronomy and teaches others about space through projects with the University of Arizona.

Main article: Sport in Vatican City

Vatican City does not join the Olympic Games, but it takes part in other international sports events. It has its own group for sports, called Athletica Vaticana.

Football in Vatican City is managed by the Vatican Amateur Sports Association. This group runs a small championship with eight teams and also organizes other football competitions. It also supports the Vatican City national football team.